British press regulation needs improvement: Cameron

British Prime Minister
David Cameron
has told a media ethics inquiry press regulation needs to be improved in Britain.

The judge-led inquiry was set up following revelations of phone hacking at
Rupert Murdoch
’s News of the World tabloid.

The scandal has shaken the British establishment and raised questions about whether top politicians helped shield Murdoch from scrutiny.

Relations with Murdoch’s media empire have been problematic for Cameron. The prime minister has faced criticism for the way his government handled Murdoch’s bid to take full control of British Sky Broadcasting.

His ties to Murdoch have also been questioned because he hired former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his communications chief.

Coulson has since been charged with perjury in a case touched by the hacking scandal.

As he began his evidence under oath at the Royal Courts of Justice, the prime minister said his seven years as corporate affairs director at Carlton, a major commercial broadcaster, in the 1990s “was quite a formative period".

The Tory leader has submitted an 84-page witness statement and three exhibits to the inquiry and was being questioned about them in an all-day session.